Cohort: SOMET 40

Topic of the thesis: Adulthood in the Making: How Gender Norms Shape Life Plans in a Context of Polycrisis. A Mixed-Methods Study on Italian Adolescents

Abstract: Across Europe, transitions to adulthood have become increasingly uncertain and delayed due to the overlapping  effects of economic precarity, climate anxiety and pandemic-related disruptions which is an interlinked phenomenon that scholars describe as "polycrisis." These structural conditions are not experienced equally: gender continues to shape how adolescents imagine, plan and emotionally respond to their futures. While research has explored youth transitions and gender norms separately, few studies examine how gendered socialization, emotional orientations (such as fear and agency) and structural uncertainty interact in shaping adolescents' life aspirations. This project investigates how Italian adolescents imagine their adulthood in a context marked by persistent gender inequality, delayed transitions and systemic instability. Using an explanatory mixed-method design, the study combines quantitative data from two national surveys (Bambini e ragazzi 2023 by ISTAT and START) with qualitative interviews to explore gendered imaginaries of adulthood across different territorial, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds in Italy. By integrating insights from life-course theory, feminist sociology and the sociology of emotions, the project aims to offer a more intersectional and empirically grounded understanding of how young people growing up in a time of crisis navigate gendered expectations about their futures.

Research interests:Second-generation immigrants, national identity, citizenship, political participation, youth condition
Graduated from: Università degli Studi di Milano
Degrees obtained: Political Science (BA) - Administration and Public Policy (MA)
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